Faster Than The Speed of Light
It had been a long autumns day for Carwen. The chilling winds sent a shiver down her spine as she ventured through the city of Crocus. The magic council had demanded her attention for hours on end, nearly without a moment's rest from the endless politics of it all. Walking through the streets of Fiore's capital, she made her way to the one place beside her home and husband she could find rest with. Further down the more questionable areas of the city, the places deemed to be the slums of the capital, was a pub where she typically enjoyed a drink and a meal when she felt that she needed some rest and distance from everything. Since childbirth, she had frequented this place less and less, but now that the most time consuming and most diligent of her work as a new mother was over, she could allow herself a visit every once in a while. She eventually reached it, The Green Kirin ''as it was called. Walking through the doors, she was greeted by the familiar cheers and greetings which she was used to, now getting a few comments regarding her absence and what had kept her occupied. She had missed this. Carwen had been at the pub for only a few minutes before a man in a long, cloak barged through the front door. He obviously was a traveler from his garb, covering every inch of him head to toe. Yet, there was a symbol on his back that everyone in their right now would know. The "Black Sun" of Jupiter Saturnalia. The symbol of the Legion Under the Black Sun, and the current rulers of Caelum. The man sat down at a bar stool, slamming his hand on the table, and just being an overall nuisance. "What does a guy have to do for a drink around here!" he shouted, now being both vocally and physically annoying. "Get out," said the bartender in the voice of a man trying to maintain his calm. "What did I do?" "You're being an ass. I don't care who you work for, or where you come from, I have the right to refuse service to anyone I want to." It was so fast no one could see. A bump, with the same shape and depth of someone who had had their head slammed into the table appeared on the bartender's forehead. It took no detective to figure out who the culprit was. "Get him!" "Your funeral." It was over in an instant. Every patron who so much as stood up was already flat on the ground. And it looked like the man hadn't even moved. "Gonna have to try harder than that." It didn't take long for Carwen's attention to be re-directed towards the chaos that transpired at the bar. Carwen peeked out from the booth in which she resided when she saw the cloaked man standing above a group of unconscious or moaning bodies. At first her look was one of surprise, only to later turn into disdain and frustration. She rose from her booth, leaving her drink and food behind to approach the cloaked man. "You know, I could have you brought in to the Rune Knights for this. But I think the far greater offense is that you have interrupted my dinner." The cloaked man barely paid her any mind. He simply waved her off. "Shoo," he said. "Unless you'd like to end up like those losers I just destroyed." "Awfully rude way to treat a lady." Carwen spoke in a most sarcastic tone. She approached him further until she stood right behind him. "I meant what I said earlier. I will have you arrested if you do not pick up and leave this instant. I have no patience for bratty nobodies today." "Nobody!?" he shouted. He threw off his cloak, flourishing it in Carwen's face and obscuring her vision. Almost simultaneously, the man aimed a high speed punch through the cloak into her face to send her reeling back. He revealed himself in full, wearing his emerald and gold colored military uniform, with green hair and antennae, and yellow eyes with black sclera. "I'm Velocity, 3rd cohort commander of the Legion Under the Black Sun ya dumb bitch!" The fist connected to her forehead and nose ridge, and yet, despite the considerable punch, she stood adamant. This would cause some more damage inflicted on her as she refused to bend to the blow. "3rd cohort general of the what? You and yours should really look into a smoother name or at least a decent acronym. This is your last chance to back away." Carwen spoke calmly, but with a hint of severe frustration lurking deep within. Velocity actually cracked a grin by her unflinching behavior towards his punch. "I thought I'd find a strong fighter if I got into enough bar fights. Glad to see I was right. I'll leave this place, but only if you take me to a place we can spar." "That's what this was all about? Finding a sparring partner? ...Some men have the most absurd ideas through their heads." Carwen sighed as she looked around, many of the men starting to come to their senses, but scared of further retaliation. Carwen looked back to the odd man before giving a short nod. "Very well, I'll take you somewhere suitable for a little fight, as soon as you pay your respects by a small amount of coin to the poor man behind the bar. I believe they suffered more than enough for your desire for conflict." She spoke as she turned on her heel and began her way out the door. "Just follow me when you have given the payment. There is a meadow just outside the city and the city guards range of authority." "Fine," said Velocity indifferently, throwing a bad of jewels behind him and into the barkeep's hands. He followed his dance partner to the meadow, beginning to stretch upon arriving their, despite not needing to do so. "You can have the first move. It wouldn't be fair if I went first." Carwen rolled her eyes at his comment. "As you wish. Just remember that hubris can very well be your downfall." She spoke as she tapped herself on her shoulders and chest ''Speed, speed, potency. She thought, planting stigmata's on herself to enhance her own combat. "Let's try and make this quick. I have a husband and kids waiting for me back home." After speaking these words, she dashed forward, almost flickering out of sight for an ordinary human being, her fists ablaze with "divine", crackling blue light as she went in for the punch. Velocity jumped to the side, just barely sidestepping Carwen’s punch. But he still wore a smile of absolute glee. “Hey you’re pretty fast. Still not as fast as me though.” One couldn’t even see his fist move as he aimed a fast and sharp blow to Carwen’s cheek before she could turn to face him. However, it wasn’t just the force of his punch that would send her back. There was another force at play, enhancing the power of his blow to hopefully send her flying. As the fist came close to connect with her face, a hand came up and grabbed hold of him by the wrist, stopping the blow. "You sure about that?" She spoke as she swiftly tugged at his wrist, pulling him closer while her fist came approaching his face at breakneck speeds. While she could tell that he most likely was faster than herself, she was more than capable of keeping up to pace at his current speeds. Thank you, Dragon DNA. Velocity’s grin was still wide on his face. Despite the grip Carwen has on his wrist, he didn’t try to retreat or get free. His hand actually wrapped around Carwen’s own, tugging in return. He aimed a high speed punch towards Carwen’s elbow joint with his other hand, hoping to dislocate her attacking hand, followed by another directly to her nose. At the same time, he had a backup plan. He dragged his finger across Carwen’s other wrist, using the pressure of his wind magic to cut her wrist. Carwen felt the sting of the cut slide across her wrist but ignored it for the moment. She re-directed her punch to perfectly match Velocity's, countering his blow with her own, and even placing a stigmata on his palm. He was quick to return with another punch, this time heading for her face, a blow which she did not have the time to counter. The hit came, making her reel backward. She applied enough pressure to his grabbed wrist to make him let go of her. She inspected the wound and glared daggers at Velocity. Her frame began top crackle with blue light before fading and leaving her wrist healed up. "One more stunt like that and I'll have you pulverized into nothingness." She tapped herself once more, re-evaluating her needs. Speed, speed, speed. ''"'Divine Dragon's Cloak!" She cried out, surrounding herself in a draconic aura. "'''Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Lance of Longinus!" She shouted and dashed forward with a long spear in hand, forged from the divine light, aiming thrusts towards his shoulders. Velocity’s smile still didn’t disappear as Carwen charged him. He seemed to suddenly clone himself, as afterimages of his body appeared in a circle around the approaching Carwen. “I see you’re making yourself faster while also trying to make me slower,” he said, his voice echoing around her. “But I’m still not nearly at my top speed.” He held up his hand as a slash suddenly appeared on his hand, the magic circle on it disappearing from being broken. “Can you find me?”